


two is better than one

by yoongoogles



Series: Kiss Kiss Fall in Love! [3]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Animal Death, Attempt at Humor, Cliche, Fish, Jeong Yunho is Whipped, Jung Wooyoung is Cute, Light Angst, M/M, This Is STUPID, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, but not really??? i promise, it is okay, like the lightest angst ever, the shrimp is a bastard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26480551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoongoogles/pseuds/yoongoogles
Summary: Yunho is left in charge of Wooyoung's precious pet fish while he goes on vacation. Easy enough.Except it's not.
Relationships: Jeong Yunho/Jung Wooyoung
Series: Kiss Kiss Fall in Love! [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1809547
Comments: 16
Kudos: 56





	two is better than one

**Author's Note:**

> i don't know i just thought it was cute :))  
> i suck at summaries anyway here's wonderwall

Yunho is, rightfully, panicking.

He’s knelt down in front of the tank, hands fully pressed to the glass, and he’s panicking. A ghost shrimp perched on a moss covered rock stares at him mockingly, like this is all his fault. He worries that it might be.

Because the goldfish Wooyoung so desperately loves is upside down, floating gently atop the surface of the little tank. It’s body moves with the filtration, spinning as it’s moved away from the bubblers. There is a choked sob caught in his throat that he refuses to let out, denial surging through him as he watches the fish bob in the water.

Yunho promised to come feed, as he is lovingly called, Puma, while he’d been away visiting his family for the week. And, to his credit, Yunho did come feed Puma. Which is how he discovers that Puma need not be fed anymore.

Wooyoung was going to be devastated.

Yunho thinks of the way he’s watched Wooyoung rehabilitate Puma, how he poured hours of relentless energy into caring for this poor, dull thing, and transforming it into something vibrant and beautiful again. It had taken months of observations and medications, all of which Yunho had his own hand in helping Wooyoung with. He couldn’t stand to see his cute face twisted in pity for the struggling goldfish, the way he’d cried as he deposited Puma into his meticulously maintained tank just to watch him sink slowly to the bottom. Yunho had crushed Wooyoung’s face to his chest that night on the floor as he sobbed, hot and stinging tears sliding down his cheeks and Yunho just...he couldn’t. He couldn’t handle it if Wooyoung had to go through this process alone.

So yeah, he’s a bit sad that Puma has seemingly kicked rocks. He’d come to enjoy watching the fish heal and thrive, too.

However, the utter horror seizing his heart far outweighs any grieving he wants to do. The thought of having to tell Wooyoung his beloved Puma is gone to this world is a thousand times more terrifying than just accepting the fish is dead and needs to be flushed.

_Okay, think, Yunho._

He paces the hallway, hands clasped under his chin as he talks himself through options.

“If I call Wooyoung right now, he’s with his family, right? So, they would comfort him, right?” End. Turn.

“What if I just wait and come back when he gets home and ‘Oh no, he was alive last night!’ No, oh my god, that’s so fucking mean.” He turns to the tank, grimacing at the body bumping against the thick glass. He continues pacing.

“‘Wooyoung, hey buddy, I’m so sorry but...Puma had an accident.’ What accident could a fucking goldfish possibly have, come on!” End. Turn.

“‘What? Puma’s dead? Oh no, I’ll be right there, I’m so sorry, Woo.’ Ugh no, what if he thinks I didn’t feed him? How would I have not known Puma was dead? What if I overfed him? What if I killed him? What if I’m a fucking fish murderer?” End. Turn. Glance to the tank - fish is still dead.

Paranoia erupts through his brain, catapulting him into a state fit for the nut house. He couldn’t have killed Wooyoung’s most precious baby, the fish is on a timed feeding schedule with a specific teaspoon for food distribution. Sure, he may have been a few minutes late last night, but there’s no way feeding Puma at 8:19 instead of 8 on the dot had anything to do with his demise.

He goes through another round of pacing, quiet as he reassures himself that he had done everything correctly, that he is no fish killer. _Think, think, think!_

Wait.

He freezes mid-step in front of the tank, crouching down to get a better look at Puma. His coloring is back to a bright orange with the exception of a mostly black tail and a black splotch near his right eye. He’s a tad bigger than most goldfish, well-fed and grown to fit the tank with just a couple ghost shrimp and a single snail as fellow occupants.

So, what if…

The ghost shrimp seems to catch on to his thought process because it’s glaring at him, at least, he thinks it’s a glare. It’s quite menacing for such a tiny, docile creature.

“Oh shut up, I’ll flush you, too.”

☂

“What about this one?”

“There’s no black spot on his eye, he’ll notice that one for sure.” Yunho studies the tank, trying to see through a blinding array of orange and black swimming so closely they all seem to blend together. The disgruntled shop employee releases the fifth fish they’d caught and determined looked nothing like Puma, cocking a hip and pulling the net from the water.

“Look, kid, I don’t think we’re going to find a fish that looks like your friend’s. You should just be honest with him.” Yunho doesn’t look away from the tank, ensuring each and every single fish is too colorful or too small to be fake Puma. His thighs are beginning to burn the longer he squats there, bent at odd angles to examine them all. _No, I don’t want to hurt him…_

“There has to be, there just has to.” Once he’s satisfied with this tank, he moves on to the next, housing just as many goldfish in varying states of health. Several are floating in a similar fashion to Puma, and it makes his gut whirl. He wants to save them all.

“If it were me-”

“Literally could you do something about that? Please? Don’t let them just live in the corpses of their friends, what the fuck.” Yunho cuts the guy off before he can get another word out, gesturing at the several fish gathered at the top of the crowded tank next to him.

“They’re just goldfish, dude.” The guy scoffs, ripping a clear plastic bag from a dispenser and spooning the dead fish into it.

“Yeah, and this is the reason my friend poured his heart and soul into fixing the one I’m trying to _replace_.” Yunho bites back, frustrated at the lack of empathy for living beings. Yunho had this exact reaction the first time Wooyoung brought Puma home, tearfully administering medicine to the struggling fish at the bottom of a plastic cup.

_“He needs help, who am I to let a living thing die when I can try to help?”_

Disappointment and guilt rain over Yunho, steady like an approaching thunderstorm. He’d spent all this time and energy coming down here to stare at all these fish, probably riddled with diseases just like Puma had been, to give Wooyoung a lesser version of something he loved with his whole heart. Whatever he’d attempt to replace Puma with, even if Wooyoung never thought twice about it, he would know. He would have the constant weight of a bad deed on his shoulders, the kind he’d eventually break down and tell Wooyoung about, anyway.

It’s as he’s coming to this realization that he spies a fish, startlingly similar to Puma, chasing a smaller fish in circles near the weak filtration bubbler. The eye mark is about as accurate as he’s gotten so far, and the tail has a few spots of orange where Puma’s was still blackened, but it seems lively and the correct size to pass. He stares at it, disgust welling in his throat that the thought had even crossed his mind. He wants to take the look-alike anyway, just to save him from this hellscape of an environment, but he refuses to risk it. Maybe, after he tells Wooyoung the truth, he will come back and rescue the little fish for himself.

“You know what, I’m set. And take care of the fucking fish, jesus.” Yunho shoots a look at the other tanks, pleased to find the others well cared for. The feeder tanks tend to be a throwaway place, just something to grab as food for other creatures. Food chains exist, he gets it, he just wishes the store took better care of them, too.

The employee snarks something back at him, but Yunho ignores him. He’s already writing a five page apology to Wooyoung in his head, going over every detail of every day he’d been gone so far.

Days one through four had been so uneventful. He doesn’t have to spend as much time jotting down any changes in Puma anymore, he can’t even remember the last time Wooyoung had to dig him out of the tank for medicine rounds.

He spends the rest of the walk back to Wooyoung’s apartment feeling nauseous as he watches storm clouds roll in, shame washing over him in torrential downpours as he thinks about why he’d even been at the store in the first place. His phone buzzes in his pocket but he avoids it, unwilling to face anyone at the moment. How dare he consider replacing Puma, doing something so vile and sneaky to his endearing little Wooyoung like that?

_Despicable._

The little fish at the store won’t leave his mind, either. He sees it vividly, swimming in a cramped area with other fish haphazardly dumped into a tank with no decorations, no viable vegetation, nothing to do but fight and fuck other fish.

Misery clouds him all the way to Wooyoung’s front door, clearing in a matter of seconds when he realizes a familiar pair of worn shoes are placed in the rack next to his door. He contemplates just turning around and running home as if he’d never been there, but he stops himself from being so cowardly. If Wooyoung is home that means he’s found Puma, and Yunho wouldn’t make it very far trying to outrun a sad Wooyoung. His heart is tied up in a tangled mess over Wooyoung already, he can’t deny him anything.

Even if it is somehow all his fault, he’d take whatever blame Wooyoung places on him if it means he gets to stay and hold him through it.

He takes a singular deep breath and exhales slowly through his mouth before opening the door, preparing to deal with Wooyoung in a crying mess at the foot of the tank or ragefully tossing a frying pan at his head.

He gets none of those things.

Wooyoung is most definitely home, though. His shoes are at the door, his backpack is dropped half open in the middle of the floor, and his jacket is hanging on the back of his only dining room chair. The faint rushing of water catches him off guard, the distinct sound of running water coming from the hallway bathroom. Dread floods through him, overtaking any rational course of action he could possibly plan. Okay, so Wooyoung knows, and any minute now he’s going to come out of that bathroom and absolutely shred Yunho to pieces.

He tenses in the doorway, still holding onto the knob and turning as if to make a rapid dash away from the scene when Wooyoung himself appears, casually drying his hands by patting them on his jeans. It leaves behind dark wet patches in the fabric, something Hongjoong always admonishes him for but Yunho irrationally finds cute.

“Oh, hey! Food won’t be here for a little while, sorry. I didn’t realize you’d missed me so much you’d just run over here.” Wooyoung smirks as he passes by the tank effortlessly, tapping Yunho’s arm in a warm greeting. Wooyoung quirks an eyebrow when Yunho doesn’t step forward, though he shrugs it off easily enough.“You can come in now.”

“Right, yeah, sorry.” Yunho waits until Wooyoung disappears into the kitchen before he kicks the door shut, hurrying over to the tank now devoid of a certain floating goldfish. He squats to check under the rocks and wooden decorations, squinting for any hint of a bright orange body. The ghost shrimp eyes him from the same platform, cold and judgemental, like he just knows Yunho had come back to do the deed himself and left poor Wooyoung to do it.

Except, Wooyoung is not crying. He’s humming to himself in the kitchen, a lilting tune he only uses when he’s content. Yunho usually harmonizes with him as they do the dishes or kick each other playfully in bed, drunk on laughter and alcohol during their sleepovers. That time of night before things get serious and intimate.

“Whatcha doing?” Yunho yelps, catching himself from tilting face-first into the glass as Wooyoung appears next to him in the reflection.

“Uh, Woo, where’s Puma?” Yunho stares carefully at Wooyoung’s reflection, waiting for his eyes to drop or a frown to crest his face. Wooyoung levels his gaze in confusion before turning away from the glass, looking right at Yunho.

“Ah, poor little guy,” Yunho’s heart clenches, “he’s in the kitchen. His swim bladder is acting up again so I’m trying to see if putting him in something smaller and not feeding him for a day or two corrects it. Why?”

Yunho would like to think he holds his emotions easily, examines them from the inside rather than allow them to etch onto his features. He likes to pretend that others can’t see the physical changes in his face, that he comes pre-packaged with happiness flowing out of him. It’s why he has so many amazing friends after all; he’s the secret weapon to sadness. He’d fight every emotion before it dares to show it’s face to his friends.

But right now, oh this moment, he’s close to tears.

“Yunho, are you alright?” And of course, sweet Wooyoung can feel the energy shift in the air. It’s like he has a built-in radar for people who are upset.

“Why are you home so early?” It comes out as a whisper, like he’s terrified that any louder and his voice will crack.

“I decided I wanted a day to relax before I have to go back to work, so I got an early train home.” Wooyoung matches his tone, wide eyes shiny and serious as he stares at Yunho with concern. His eyebrows pull so tightly together they almost meet in the middle and Yunho wants to reach up, smooth out the line it makes.

“Okay.” Yunho breathes out once, slow and steady like he had at the doorway when he noticed Wooyoung was home. “I have to tell you something.”

“Are you okay?” Wooyoung sits on the floor cross-legged, prompting Yunho to do the same, and when he moves their knees touch and Yunho almost loses his nerve. “You’re freaking me out, just tell me.” And Wooyoung places a hand on his right knee - _on his fucking knee_ \- and has the gall to look at him with those pretty eyes, focused entirely on him.

For whatever reason, the warmth of Wooyoung’s hand calms the tide in him, ebbing instead of mercilessly flowing.

“So, I came in this morning to feed Puma and I found him floating and I thought he was dead, but I didn’t know how to tell you so I tried to think of literally any other solution, and the ghost shrimp was basically screaming at me to do something - he seems very rude, you should get a new one and take him back - and so I maybe might have possibly gone to the pet store to see if I could find another Puma. But I couldn’t! Well, actually I found one, and honestly I’m thinking about going back to get him, but-”

“Yunho, stop.” And Yunho does, mostly because Wooyoung’s index finger is pressed against his lips and he has an amused glint in his eye. The shame had resurfaced while he rambled, completely fumbling his planned apology that included flowers and dinner. “It’s okay, it’s my fault.”

Yunho immediately jumps to his defense, which Wooyoung hushes again, pushing his finger insistently against his top lip.

“I should’ve told you I have to take breaks feeding him sometimes or he just kind of...malfunctions and floats around at the top like he’s dead. He has swim bladder issues, it just acts up every once in a while. I’m sorry.” Wooyoung apologizing for this feels all kinds of wrong, Yunho wants to bite him for even considering it.

“Don’t apologize.” He licks the underside of Wooyoung’s finger to get him to move so he can talk, too. He does, but not without a cute, fake little grimace. “I almost went out and bought a different fish to keep literal death from you, I should be the one apologizing.”

“Okay, but imagine how funny that would be if you actually did buy another fish. Like, ‘Oh, Yunho, did you buy Puma a friend for when he feels better?’” Yunho shoves at Wooyoung’s chest and he falls backwards to the floor dramatically, fist clenched in his shirt just enough to pull it up his stomach a little bit. “I wouldn’t have even known.” His laugh is loud and bright, full of all the things Yunho never thought he’d hear again after this morning.

“It would not be funny, you jackass. I felt so awful thinking I killed your precious fish somehow.” Even if he’s telling the truth, and the toiling in his gut hasn’t completely gone away, Yunho does find the humor in the situation fairly easily.

Damn, he’s such a cliche.

“But you didn’t, so it’s okay.” Wooyoung rests his hands on his stomach, lungs expanding and falling as he catches his breath from laughing so hard at Yunho’s guilt-ridden confession. He’s looking back at Yunho so thoughtfully, so full of light and fondness. God, how lucky he is to have Wooyoung. “As if I wouldn’t notice at all. You’re ridiculous.”

“So, you’re not mad at me for almost replacing Puma with a doppelgänger Puma?”

“No, I’m not mad at you, Yunho.” Wooyoung wrinkles his nose at him teasingly, like he can’t even believe Yunho had spent his day agonizing over it all. “That’s sweet of you, actually. You just didn’t want to see me sad.”

“Wouldn’t it be mean of me to lie instead of just telling you the truth?”

“Have you met you? You lasted less than _one minute_ with me before you lost your shit. I think your plan would’ve failed the moment you stepped in the door with your little fishy imposter.”

And it’s something about the way Wooyoung says it, with sparkles in his eyes like he maybe wouldn’t have minded if Yunho had done exactly that and crumbled in his doorway, or how the sarcasm is clear in his voice but the bite isn’t there. Yunho just chuckles and drops his gaze to his lap, so Wooyoung places his ankle there, an open invitation for Yunho to hold onto him.

They sit together in comfortable silence for a few minutes, listening to the bubbler in the tank, lost in their own thoughts. It’s dark, the storm Yunho spotted on his way home finally falling on them. Neither get up to turn on the lights, content to watch the ghost shrimp flit about as the rain starts outside. Wooyoung’s skin feels like velvet and Yunho presses his thumb prints there, careful to trace the bones and muscles lightly.

“I missed you. And Puma. That’s why I came back early.” Wooyoung sighs heavily, as though it is a burden relieved by sharing it with Yunho. Yunho doesn’t stop stroking Wooyoung’s ankle, fingers gliding just beneath the cuff of his jeans.

“I missed you too, Woo. I’m glad Puma isn’t dead.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“You know, when I brought him home, I didn’t expect him to live this long.” Wooyoung adjusts himself a bit, getting comfortable where they’re on the floor. He’s looking into the tank still, a mossy green glow lighting up the high points of his face and making his eyes all shiny. Yunho imagines them at an aquarium, being able to observe Wooyoung like this, admiring fish and creatures with his big eyes bright and happy. A light bulb flicks on in his brain, though he tries his best to ignore it.

“Mmm. Maybe I should get him a pal, keep him young for longer.” Wooyoung sits up to lean on his elbows, nodding along in enthusiastic approval. His gaze drops to where Yunho’s hand covers his ankle, fingers drawing little shapes and oddities on the skin he can reach. It’s nothing new, they touch like this all the time. It’s a comfort thing, Yunho tells himself. Just touch. But Wooyoung’s eyes burn holes onto the surface of his hand, feeling just as much of a physical trace as Yunho’s fingers dancing across his skin.

“You just want to buy me a fish because you feel bad that you almost killed mine, right?”

“That is not even half of the reason why. Maybe like, 25%.” Wooyoung sits all the way up and cradles his knees to his chest, significantly closer to Yunho this time.

“You like me _so much_ , huh? Worry yourself sick about a little fish, all because of me.” Yunho’s stomach flips when he finds Wooyoung smirking at him, sharp, white teeth flashing in a smile so pretty it nearly stops his heart. Careful, like he doesn’t want to scare Yunho off, Wooyoung reaches out to play with the strings of his hoodie like he sometimes does. All these touches are normal between them, casual as they watch a show together or talk late into the night.

So why do they feel so different?

Yunho’s heart stopped back when Wooyoung had said he’d removed Puma from the tank, but it’s beating out of his chest now the longer Wooyoung looks at him like that. Like he’s waiting for something.

“I do like you so much.”

“You like me _so much_ you almost broke down over a fish.” Wooyoung shifts closer, minutely, but enough that Yunho notices the shrinking distance. Yunho breathes in, a little entranced by how he can smell Wooyoung’s cologne so perfectly like this.

“He’s your pet, Wooyoung, of course I panicked.” Wooyoung tugs on a hoodie string like he’s trying to pull Yunho towards him.

“You like me _so much_ , you still want to get me another fish for no good reason.” Details. The way thunder rumbles outside, followed by the soft pattering of rain against the sliding door. He tries to count the seconds of a lightning flash, to calculate how far away the eye of the storm is, but Wooyoung is looking at him like that and Yunho…

And Yunho just can’t help thinking how beautiful he looks cast in the tank’s light, shadows of bubbles up the side of his cheekbone like he could feel them if Yunho just reached out...

“He needs a home.” Wooyoung is close, too close, but Yunho’s starting to get it. He wraps his hand around Wooyoung’s ankle, privately delighting in the way his palm completely covers it, and shifts forward.

“You like me-”

_Yes._

“Wooyoung.” Yunho interrupts, leaning into his space until he’s hovering just above Wooyoung’s face, perfect, cherry lips on display. He’s a little shattered by it, but clearly if he doesn’t step in and do something, Wooyoung will continue to play his game.

“Mmm?”

“I’ll get you the damn fish.” He waits for Wooyoung’s features to lose the charm, to open up into that wide grin when he’s just tickled over something, and then he places one hand under his chin and guides their lips together.

It’s warm, the way they tangle together like they’re coming home. There’s no surprise in it, no hesitancy, just the light press of lips through matching smiles. Yunho’s heart sings when Wooyoung pulls him closer by the hoodie strings wrapped around his fingers, breathing a sigh of relief into Yunho’s mouth.

Wooyoung’s lips taste like the peppermint lip balm he always carries, claiming the iciness puffs up his lips. Yunho might’ve thought he was crazy before, but they’re so soft, they glide together at even the smallest movement, and he tastes incredible. It’s a shy, mutual exploration at first; one of Wooyoung’s hands comes to cup Yunho’s jaw, running his index finger down the sharp line like he’s appreciating art. They move slow, like all of the time in the world is theirs, like there’s nowhere else to be but the floor of Wooyoung’s cold apartment.

Yunho registers a flash of lightning, doesn’t bother with the fucking math this time. He helps Wooyoung rearrange himself to straddle his lap, worries only momentarily for his poor knees digging into the hardwood before he realizes Wooyoung just gave himself a height advantage. Both of Yunho’s palms grasp Wooyoung’s waist, meeting in the middle of his back to squeeze. It may be a daring move, but he slips both hands underneath Wooyoung’s shirt to press into the dimples of his back.

Wooyoung gasps into his mouth, taken aback by the touch, and hovers there for a second, just wet, silken lips teasingly brushing against Yunho’s swollen ones. The crash of thunder around them startles them into each other rather than apart, Wooyoung nearly knocking Yunho into the floor as he bends down and kisses him so deep, so desperately.

“God, you drive me insane.” Wooyoung breathes between kisses, shivering when the tip of Yunho’s tongue runs across his bottom lip as he talks. “A fucking fish. It took a fucking fish to get you to notice me.”

That...that does make Yunho stop.

“Hmm?” But he gets cut off as Wooyoung tucks his face into his neck, kissing the juncture between his shoulder and neck before latching onto him with a little love bite. “Ha, fuck-”

“You are so…” Wooyoung growls instead of finishing whatever he was going to say, the sound like its own hot electric strike zinging down to the heat stirring inside of Yunho. He’s never been kissed quite like this, he’s never been lovingly held in place to accept bites and soothing kisses.

“So?”

“Hot.” Wooyoung’s teeth dig into a sensitive spot on his neck, just under his ear, enough that Yunho’s fingers grip his skin until he can run his nails down Wooyoung’s back almost reflexively. Wooyoung jerks at the sensation, rigid until he melts into the pressure. “You care about the dumbest shit ever.” Wooyoung releases him to say, panting against the wet skin. The contrast of his hot breath on cool skin brings the hair on Yunho’s arms standing to attention.

“Like?”

“Like the times you held me while I cried over Puma.” He punctuates this with a kiss, a dramatic switch in pace from frantic to sweet again. Yunho feels like his head is going to explode, he can hardly keep up. “Like how you bought new decorations so he didn’t get bored.” Another kiss. Yunho’s eyes close in bliss, though he can’t see much of anything anyway. “Like how I’ve been dropping hints for weeks and you caught exactly zero of them.” This time, a nip.

“H-huh?”

Wooyoung leaves a small lick over the last bite before he sits back, fingers immediately reaching to squeeze Yunho’s lips together into a pout. He stares for a moment, like he is searching for something in Yunho’s eyes before he continues thoroughly taking him apart. On the floor. In front of his fish tank. Yunho nearly gives in to the urge to sneak a peek, just to see if the ghost shrimp is spying on them.

Probably. Little fuck.

“I’ve liked you since the day I brought Puma home and you just accepted it, didn’t even question it. Never doubted my ability to save this stupid little fish. I knew I was in deep shit when you brought over that driftwood piece for him because you read they like to have places to hide. And, just now, when I watched you nearly lose it because you thought I’d be upset with you if he died.” Wooyoung’s eyes flicker back and forth as he talks and Yunho can do nothing but watch in awe, like the vibrating in his chest every time he’d seen Wooyoung the past couple of weeks is finally slowing into a steady thrum - a thrum he understands, one he thinks is shared between them, and they’d just been deaf to the frequency.

_Oh._

“Oh.”

“Oh?”

Yunho studies Wooyoung’s offended face, teal light paired with the bright spark of lightning giving him a view so beautiful and quick it couldn’t have lasted longer than a blink. Even though his tailbone is beginning to ache and he’s sure Wooyoung’s knees are bruising, he doesn’t really want to move from this spot. Just in case another flash comes along.

Wow, he’s been so fucking dumb.

“Yeah, I’ve had a stupid crush on you for like, months, I think.” He finally relents when Wooyoung actually starts to look a little upset. Wooyoung makes a noise Yunho could only equate to a squawk, and then pinches his arm hard enough to leave a mark.

“You asshole! You’re definitely buying me that damn fish now!”

“Okay, okay.” Yunho laughs amid a flurry of Wooyoung’s attempts to pinch him, dodging until he’s sick of the play and would rather go back to kissing. And he does; he tugs Wooyoung back down and with one hand cupping the nape of his neck, lips meeting in a mess of Wooyoung’s giggling. Another flash - this time, he misses the picture Wooyoung makes in the split second the room lights up, but he thinks it might be worth the loss when Wooyoung sucks Yunho’s bottom lip between his teeth.

☂

“Holy shit, you’re so right.”

“I know!”

“This guy is like, definitely a genetic clone of Puma. Shit.”

Yunho watches with exasperated, fond amusement as Wooyoung holds the plastic bag up and inspects the goldfish blinking back at him. His reflection distorts in the bag and makes one eye look bigger than the other, which Yunho has to consciously ban from his head so he doesn’t recall the image at inappropriate times. It’s cute. It’s so utterly, devastatingly cute, and Yunho didn’t know he could be this soft. Melted mint ice cream over a screaming hot summer blacktop.

_Yeah._

He swipes his card at the register, doesn’t even mind when Wooyoung goes back for more ghost shrimp. As long as he’s happy.

As they walk home, Wooyoung spits out names and turns them down himself until he just starts pointing at things they see. “Tree. Orange peel. Toyota.”

“Woo, why don’t you just wait to see what his personality is like?”

“He’s a fish.”

“You named Puma after his color started changing, right?”

“That makes no sense, then I’d have named him Leopard or something.” He kicks a rock in their path and then stops, throwing wide and excited eyes at Yunho while a grin grows on his face. “Leopard?”

“Cheetah?”

He seems to mull this over, eyes rolling to the sky and lips pursing so adorably, Yunho can’t resist bending down to steal a kiss. The blush that blooms in his cheeks is enough to stutter Yunho’s heart, but he holds it together when Wooyoung adopts the telltale sign of him going into full blown Cute Woo mode. The one where he makes himself small, the one he knows Yunho is a sucker for.

“Cheetah is cute, like you~” He holds the fish up next to Yunho’s face, pretending to compare and contrast between Yunho and the little swimmer. “Mmm, Cheetah. Yes.”

“You realize you’ve now named two fish after big cats, which is basically an oxymoron.”

“You actually named this one. We’re both dumb now.” Wooyoung offers his free hand to Yunho, smiling up at him in the way that makes Yunho question how he’d been so scared to have this before. When Yunho slips his hand into Wooyoung’s and threads their fingers together, Wooyoung swings their joined hands happily, careful not to jostle Cheetah on his other side. Yunho spares a glance at him, transfixed and so adoring he wonders if Wooyoung can physically feel his stare just as he feels the warmth of his hand. “Come on, let’s go introduce the cats to each other.”

The cats. Yunho rolls his eyes and lets Wooyoung lead the way home, purposefully falling behind just so Wooyoung can pull him along. The smell of foliage and yesterday’s rain hangs heavy over them as Wooyoung talks to his new pet, crunching along wet leaves on the sidewalk. He thinks about the Yunho of yesterday, naive and disappointed in himself, and wishes he could go back in time to show him this; the bounce of Wooyoung in front of him, cutely showing his little fish the rest of the world, fingers squeezing Yunho’s when he falls a little too far behind.

“Slowpoke!” Wooyoung laughs as Yunho swipes his tongue across his lip, tasting familiar peppermint lip balm that isn’t his. His gaze drops to Wooyoung’s interlocked fingers as he swings their hands once, just to make sure it isn’t a dream.

He’d like to think the result would be similar even if Puma had made an untimely departure from this world, but he won’t bother with the what-ifs anymore. He doesn’t need to. He has Wooyoung, and the two fish that feel more like theirs instead of just Woo's, and he's happy. All of the times he's walked in on Wooyoung knelt down by the tank, chatting away at the glass while Puma floats about, that seizing in his chest felt like a foreign thump in the rhythm of his heartrate. The week Puma took a turn for the worst and Yunho stayed at Wooyoung's until Puma was up and swimming again, how he fell asleep with Wooyoung pressed against him, desperate for a form of comfort he wasn't entirely sure how to give. 

And now, with a cup of shrimp in his hand, the other wound with Wooyoung's own, he feels like it all makes sense. It took the damn fish almost perishing for him to figure it out, but they're here.

"You think the cats will get along well?"

"I think they'll be fine, Woo. Two is usually better than one, anyway." 

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i'm sorry it's taken so long to add another piece to the kiss kiss series, college may be kicking my ass.  
> thank you as always for reading and if you have suggestions for more, please let me know!  
> you guys are the best, i'm glad you're enjoying this series as much as i am. <3 <3 
> 
> twt @yoontoagoblin


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